Gratitude
by TheEXxtra
Summary: After so many lovely dates with Moxxie, Millie decides to return the favor.


A black-haired imp felt the heavy covers lay on them, pushing them aside to reveal the bright red sky wake them up. She rubbed her eyes, looking to her spouse.

"Oh god, I'm so sorry." Moxxie freaked out, shutting the door on his wife, blushing a bit as he went back to the living room. "Come out when you're all dressed." He suggested, hurrying along.

"Don't feel embarrassed sweetie." Millie groaned, still waking up from her long slumber. She got up and went to her dresser, pulling on her crop top as she stared out the window. Outside, she saw some sort of diner.

"You okay there?" Moxxie asked, turning on the TV, a clink being audible from a plate being put down.

Millie moved her mouth towards the door, her eyes still glued to the diner. "Yeah, gimme a sec." She slipped on her pants, brushing her hair as she saw herself in the window in a faint reflection.

The female imp opened the door, noticing her adorable companion on the sofa. "Morning!" Millie chirped, skipping over to her significant other. She took a seat next to the white-haired imp, seeing some eggs with some orange juice next to it. "Oh babe!~" She hugged him, nuzzling her cheek against Moxxie.

"Oh~ You're always so darn thankful, Mill." He kissed Millie back, "Enjoy."

Millie took a bite out of the egg, sighing from the satisfying taste of the meal. She tapped the plate a bit, looking at Moxxie cracking his neck. "Bet you'd love a breakfast from me someday." She took a sip from her drink, giggling at the kindness hanging around the room.

"You don't need to do a thing for me, Millie." Moxxie kissed Millie on the forehead, leaning back into the sofa to browse TV channels.

"B-But, I want to." Millie insisted in a southern drawl. She tried to take another bite, but felt her appetite slip away from her as she worried.

"You do plenty, you just don't see it." Moxxie put a hand over Millie's, putting on an easy smile to his freckled face.

Millie's face pouted, putting her eating utensils down forcefully. She carefully moved the foldable table away from her and stood up to Moxxie. "Damn it, I'm gonna take you out-out...out to the diner across the street and you're gonna like it!" She yelled, before collapsing into Moxxie's chest, whimpering. "You're just so fucking nice, my precious imp boy! And don't try to one up me on this…" She held Moxxie's hands together, "I'll be the sweet idiot this time, Mox~"

"Okay, fine. You win." Moxxie jokes, reaching out for his wallet from one side of the sofa. Before he could get a hold the wallet, he felt himself being dragged away. His eyes widened as he began his journey to the diner.

"Yay! I'll pay for ya, don't worry." She dragged her husband out to the front door, grabbing her wallet along the way. She let go of him right after she locked the door shut behind them and went down and out of the apartment building.

Moxxie brushed some dust off of his black coat, rubbing the back of his head, as he stepped out with his wife. "So...is that the place you mean?" The imp brushed his horns with the same hand, sliding it down his face.

"Yeah, I mean…" Millie paused, tapping her right under her black lips. "It seemed fine from up there." She shrugged, lifting Moxxie up, running across the street against the hectic traffic.

A frail-looking demon walked out the diner, almost skin and bone from the cigars he appeared to be smoking. The bell rang from the top of the diner door, the ring uneven due to the crack in the noisemaker.

Moxxie looked into the food place, seeing a demon reading the daily paper as the only customer in there. "Not the worst place...but the best with you~" The white-freckled imp smiled at his spouse, turning around and hold Millie's hand as they both walked into the diner.

The place was fairly modest, being mostly purple with red highlights for the interior. There were a few round tables scattered throughout, with a few board games in one corner and the restrooms in the other. The cashier and supposed cook seemed pretty friendly, selling to the couple that the diner was more family oriented; For Hell, that is.

Millie, being the more excited of the two, sped up to the counter and picked up a menu. "Hi~" She said absent-mindedly, skimming the booklet to see what the place had to offer.

The wolf demon behind the counter, wearing a purple outfit to both match her restaurant and complement her white fur greeted the two with a smile. "Welcome to Kelly's! Glad to see ya'll finally come down!"

Moxxie picks up a menu with Millie, surfing the list of food. He smiled and nodded at the different options, most of which were different kinds of sandwiches. "Oh wow, I didn't know you guys ha-wait, do you guys watch us or something?" Moxxie questioned, angling his menu down a bit.

The wolf girl blushed, confused at Moxxie. "I don't understand." She answered slowly, clearly sounding uneased.

"You did say we "finally came down" does that imply you've been watching us? Stalking us?" Moxxie interrogated, putting the menu down to focus on the cashier.

"Sweetie, ease up. She's just being nice." Millie argued, holding her significant other, patting Moxxie's back.

Moxxie sighed, sifting through the menu again. He glanced around and saw an item that was called 'Sneaky Jerry' which was said to be a sandwich of the cook's choice. "Hey Mill, wanna try this?"

Millie glanced at Moxxie's menu, looking to where his finger was pointing at. "Huh, a Sneaky Jerry?" She snatched the menu, standing on her tippy toes to get a view of the kitchen the diner had and put the two menus down. "Uh, yeah. Two Sneaky Jerrys and two-" She picked up the menu, looking at the back of it for the drinks before setting it back down. "Two sodas. One Sprite2 and one...what did you want?" Millie whispered to Moxxie.

Moxxie sighed, whispering back, "...Coke2."

"And one Coke2, and I'm using cash." Millie specified, pulling her wallet out from her back pocket.

The wolf girl tapped on her register screen a few times then stated, "Your total is fifteen dollars and ninety-eight cents."

Promptly, Millie pulled out a twenty dollar bill, saying, "You can just keep the two pennies, I'm sure someone will use them."

The wolf girl cracked her neck, opening the register and giving the imp girl her change. "It'll be done in about ten to fifteen minutes!" She informed the two, giving them both tall cups for their sodas and taking her copy of the receipt to the few people in the kitchen.

Millie went over to the soda fountains and filled her cup up with Spirte2, observing the label of the soda. "Hmm, what you think happened to Sprite1?" She pondered to Moxxie.

"Maybe Sprite1 wasn't that great." Moxxie answered bluntly, pouring his drink with the fountain machine.

"'Cuz Sprite2 is 'two' good, heh." Millie booped the middle of Moxxie's face, sipping on her soda pop with a smile.

Moxxie crossed his eyes, seeing his wife's finger touch the center of his face. It scrunched up a bit, with a giggle escaping the imp. Without warning, the male imp noticed a sudden itch wash over him, a tingle offending his slit nostrils, "EHHchiewww" He sneezed, doubling over with a bit of his soda dripping to the side. He sniffled and blinked, becoming wide eyed, "Good point." he nodded.

Millie wrapped an arm around Moxxie, guiding him to a table. "Get it? Because Sprite with a two in it. Hehe, you're funny, babe." Millie jokes, ruffling Moxxie's hair.

Moxxie chuckled weakly, still sniffling at the boop he received earlier. He took a seat across from Millie, adjusting the straw in his cup. "I suppose you got tired of MY sandwiches." He said sarcastically, smirking with an eyebrow raised, his face appearing intimate.

"Noo~." Millie dismissed casually, twirling the tip of her straw with a finger, poking the bubbles on her lid out of boredom. "Just kinda thought something different would be great!"

Even though Moxxie knew Millie could spare some patience at diners, he could help but take advantage of the diner he was brought to. Finding a simple deck of cards, the imp took them out of the sleeve and shuffled them, bringing them to the table. "Wanna see something...magical?" Moxxie brandished the deck of cards, holding them like a fan and lining them up back in his hand.

Millie nodded, a wide grin spreading along her cheeks. "Heh, you always do the same trick, but go on~" She smiled, resting her chin over her creased wrists, tail swaying left and right.

Moxxie cleared his throat, holding the deck with one hand and his chin with the other, pondering what trick he could do to begin with. "Alright, just one sec." He hummed audibly, fidgeting with the box the cards came with.

Millie waited, lightly kicking her feet back and forth in her chair. She stifled her laughter, seeing Moxxie fumble and toss the box across the table. She picked it up, digging her fingers inside to see if there were any cards Moxxie forgot. She felt a film of dust along the interior, but no cards.

Pulling her fingers back out, bits of dust puff around her. Her eyelids lower, the imp lady gripping the table. "Hehhh!" She hitched at the sudden itch in her sinuses, moving a fist alonge her irritated nostrils. "Huh-how long have those cards been there?" Millie asked out loud, sniffling from the dust, causing the itch to multiply to her dismay. As if putting on an act, Millie stretches herself back, exaggerating her simple need to sneeze. Holding a finger in front of her nostrils, she hitches "Hehhh! AhhchiEWWW!" She sounds out, "Whew! That was a doozy." She jokes, returning back to her patient sitting position, allowing her husband to do his card trick.

Moxxie blinked, shocked at how loud Millie had sneezed, "Gesundheit" the imp said plainly, swallowing a knot in his throat. He finished shuffling his card, ready to start the trick. He fanned the cards out, "Take a card, any you'd like." The imp offered, looking into his girlfriend's eyes.

Graciously, Millie plucked a card from Moxxie's grip, feeling the surface of the card while trying to memorize that it was a three of hearts. She hummed in her seat, swaying back and forth.

"Now!" Moxxie piled up the cards, gesturing for Millie to place the card on the top of the deck. "Shuffle them for me." He commanded softly, solidifying the magic of the trick.

Millie's tail curled up, her smile widening. She showed off her dexterity, shuffling the cards between a hand and her tail, looking cocky. She placed the deck down, using the tips of her fingers to stifle a small giggle, "Did it." A blush came over her face.

Moxxie rubbed the back of his neck, given that his wife seemed skilled with a deck of cards. "So…" He cleared his throat, feeling his pride take a minor hit, "Now, uh…" He tapped on the side of the as he thought of what to do next for the trick, "...what was I supposed to do." He whispered to himself.

The white-haired imp looked at the deck, rubbing his head in confusion. He fidgeted with his tail, looking up to Millie to see if she noticed.

The female imp sat there, happily waiting with her hands on the bottom of her chair. She looked clueless, simply wanting to see Moxxie do something for her, as she never asked too much from him.

"...so, I guess I'm supposed to…" Moxxie continued, his hands shaking a bit. He felt the cards slipping out of his hand, with his tail moving forward to realign them. Moxxie looked closer at the deck to assure that the cards were lined up perfectly.

Millie leaned forward, looking at her partner sweat nervously. "Uh, sweetie? You sure you got this down?" The imp asked, putting a hand on Moxxie's shoulder.

Moxxie jumped in his seat, noticing how close his wife got to him. "Well, uh." He giggled nervously, blushing as he picked back up a few loose cards, putting them back in his hand. He brushed the deck clean with a single swipe up.

Millie leaned forward to kiss Moxxie on the forehead, causing the two soda cups to move around with the girl imp practically laying on the table. She felt the same dust casing the deck of cards come back to bother her. She scrunched the center of her face, curling her tail almost to her neck and a hand that was ready to catch a sneeze. She panted, bending a few of Moxxie's cards while she held in the burning itch.

Moxxie, being the one holding the cards, could also feel the effects the dust was having on him. "Oh guih-god!" He exclaimed out loud, having a few sudden hitches, reeling his head back with each sudden breath. "Heh! HIhhh...Gehh!" His mouth hung open as the tingling around his nostrils lingered on, growing more and more ticklish.

"Mox! Guhh...chiEEEEW!" Millie doubles over, falling on top of Moxxie, toppling the sodas they poured earlier.

"DUih-don't do ehhCHIewww!" Moxxie sneezed, cards falling all over the floor, with one of them landing right by his tail. He sniffled, rubbing a finger along his flared nostrils.

Millie did the same with her readied finger, but more urgently. After the itch receded, she looked at Moxxie, finally planting a kiss on her husband. "Sorry, I'll help out!" She began picking up the cards, "I'll just play 52 pick up till you're ready."

Moxxie noticed how fast Millie was moving, seeing the wolf cashier coming up to their table, also acting as a waitress. "Oh, heh! Gimme a moment, I'll clean that up for ya!" She placed the sandwiches down on the table, wiping the floor down quickly.

Millie easily found all the cards, seeing the last one right by Moxxie's tail. "Oh! You sly devil!" Millie jokes, revealing the card. "Did you do this on purpose! That was some cute trick right there!" She showed off a three of hearts to Moxxie, organizing the deck of cards.

"Oh, heh, yeah!" Moxxie agreed cautiously, not actually knowing what her card was. He stood back up, seeing both a clean dining area and delicious sandwiches prepared for the two. "Oh thanks, I...would've gotten that." He modestly said.

"Oh, you two were having fun. Just thought I'd let you two have your moment." The canine demon smiled, walking back to her register. "Enjoy!"

Millie quickly got up, sending the cards back into the box and setting it aside. Going for the turkey melt. "Oo! This stuff looks great, ma'am!" She complemented, taking a decent sized bite out of the sandwich.

Moxxie was left with a spicy chicken sandwich, "Oh." He said, feeling a bit bummed. He liked spicy food, but how he felt afterwards was a good enough reason to eat more sweets. "Looks good, I'll admit." He smiled, but grew wide eyed as he saw his wife scarfing the sandwich that was just brought to her.

"Mmm! This is pretty go-oh, sorry." Millie blushed, wiping her mouth with a napkin. "Does it, uh, look good to ya?" she asked.

Moxxie nodded, "Yeah, it's…" He took the bun off the sandwich, the scent of the sauce simply reminding him of how hot it could be. "Nice!" He said with a hint of sarcasm, begrudgingly biting into his sandwich.

Millie noticed her husband, her grin slowly fading. She sighed, poking at her sandwich a bit. "It is nice, yeah." She agreed, voice getting softer.

Moxxie looked up to see a mellowed Millie, he bit his lip, feeling he might be at fault for how Millie is. "Millie, this place is nice. Seriously!" He went up and poured both of them more soda, "I'm just surprised you'd find such a good place to eat on your first try." Moxxie added.

"Heh, well, it wasn't that hard, really." Millie bragged, going back to eating her sandwich, the grin on her face coming back in full bloom.

Moxxie grabbed his sandwich, gearing himself up to take a bite. He bit it quickly, chewing the meat. The sauce steamed his face up, making the imp cough, sniffle, and rub his eyes. "Holy shit." He groaned, taking a large sip of his soda.

Finishing the last bite of her own sandwich, Millie wiped her face, "Does it taste as good as it looks?" She smiled, sipping her soda.

Moxxie took another big bite from the sandwich, immediately washing it down with his drink. "It's different! Just a bit hot, to be fair." He fanned his mouth, panting from the intensity of the spice.

The door of the restaurant was opened up, allowing a slender denizen of Hell to walk inside. His boots stomped on the floor, with his black coat trailing behind. He went up to the counter, and gave the cashier cash for a take out meal, "Oh, you're just adorable. Have fun!" He waved, on his way to leave before noticing Moxxie and Millie.

Millie recognized the man, sitting up in her chair and waving, "Hey boss!" She smiled, "Why don't ya come eat with us? We were just about to play some games!" the imp offered.

Right as Moxxie was about to bite into the sandwich another time, he paused, "W-what?" He asked out loud, making sure he heard Millie correctly.

The man across the diner took the offer and sat himself in between the couple, pulling out his sandwich out of his bag. "Oh Millie, why of course. We are a special little family, after all…" he cheered, smiling at Millie, only to flip his expression and turn to Moxxie, "Moxxie." He frowned.

Moxxie stared at his boss, dropping his sandwich and motioning his hands at him. "Wha-who invited you OUR date?!" He demanded an answer, yelling at him.

"Your lovely little Mill." The boss teased, resting his chin on his knuckles. "So typical, never thinking about me. I hardly get to see you too." He said sarcastically, looking at his nails to agitate Moxxie further.

"Har-guh! Fine, but only this once." Moxxie crossed his arms, "because she offered the date this time…" He grumbled quietly.

The boss turned his head, putting a hand to the side of his head, "Sorry, what was that?" He asked.

"Blitzo!" The wolf girl said, "You still want your drink?" She asked, holding a cup up in the air.

The boss diverted his attention to the cashier, "Uh, nah. How about one of those frap' bottles. You got vanilla?" He asked, getting out of his chair.

Blitzo walked up to the counter, grabbing the vanilla coffee. "Thanks!" He put a dollar in the tip jar. He went back to his chair, putting a finger in front of Moxxie's face and chugged half the bottle, slamming it down before continuing his act. "Okay, so what was that you said about the chick taking the pussy boy on a date?"

Moxxie's yellow eyes narrowed, fist clenched. He angrily pointed a finger at Blitzo, taking a deep breath, as if he was about to say something to the skinny imp.

Millie put a hand to Moxxie's wrist, giving him a soft look. "Mox!" Her face pouted, her tail drooping.

Moxxie looked into Millie's distressed eyes and sighed, letting go of his rage, "I know." He said softly, holding his other hand around Millie's, leaning in to kiss her.

Blitzo stuck his head between the two, "D'aww, this is always my favorite part!" He pretended to tear up.

Moxxie looked back to Blitzo, his face twisted in confusion. His grip tensed on Millie's hand, making the female imp slip her arm away.

Blitzo leaned forward towards Moxxie, "Little...bitch." He said slowly.

Moxxie sent a fist towards Blitzo, only to land his blow on a glass bottle of coffee. His knuckles throbbed for a moment, "Ffffffuck!" He agonized, more mad about missing Blitzo with the punch than hurting himself.

Blitzo grabbed some paper towels, wiping himself off. He scoffed dramatically, not taking Moxxie's anger serious in any capacity, "Well darn. Guess I gotta go to the cleaner now." as he wiped himself, he added, "You punch like a girl, by the way."

Millie giggled nervously, "Oh sweetie, I'm sure whatever happened today stressed him out. He needs to let some steam off!" She reasoned, comforting Moxxie.

"He ju-okay Mill, sorry. I really am." He nuzzled his wife, purring a bit. He sighed, taking the cards from the edge of the table, "Okay, so uh...go fish?" He suggested to the group, passing out a few cards to each person.

"Oo! Yahtzee!" Blitzo yelled, slamming his cards on the table. He laughed, turning to the couple and getting deadpan reactions from the two, "That's how it works, right? I don't really do this card stuff, more of a money guy." He picked his card back up, "You guys can go first, don't wanna beat you guys in one turn." He lied, trying to remember the basic rules.

Moxxie rolled his eyes, looking into his deck, noticing a couple numbered cards begging to be matched. He blushed, asking Millie, "Got anyyyy sevens?" He traced her cards, patiently waiting.

"Nope~!" Millie smiled back, dragging her tail around Moxxie's arms. She slowly pointed the flexible appendage to the center of the table, "Go fish." She giggled.

Blitzo noticed the methodical pace, seeing that he could interject to save time. He glanced at Moxxie, his favorite punching bag and thought of something even better, "Hey, Moxxie~" He whispered in his ear seductively, "got...any...threes~?"

Moxxie backed up from Blitzo, hiding his cards away from his boss. He looked up and down Blitzo's form, seeing how much that imp in front of him was trying to fuck with him, he sighed, "...yes! Yes I do!" He shoved the cards in Blitzo's hand.

Millie stuck her tongue out, thinking of what number she would want the most. "Hmm!" She pondered audibly, sifting through her cards. "How abouuuut...wait, gimme a bit." She tapped a finger on the table, leaning back.

To postpone the silence, Blitzo nudged Moxxie, "Hey." The slender imp greeted, his eyes lighting up in joy.

Moxxie sighed, still feeling the weight of Blitzo's presence on him. "What's been going on with ya?" He asked, attempting to sound sincere.

"Oh, nothing really. You know how this goes, yeah?" Blitzo mentioned casually, stretching his legs underneath the table.

Millie felt her legs get lightly jabbed by Blitzo's feet. "Uh! Sorry!" She recoiled in her seat, moving herself back. She looked at her deck again, asking "any twos?".

"Go fish, hun~." He cooed, before shifting his cheerful smile to a more neutral expression. "I'm as much for sympathy as the next guy…" Moxxie stated, scanning his hand of cards, "Any threes?" , to which Millie gave him one card for his deck, "...but there are only so many times you can just barge in on our dates and expect us to be okay with it!"

"Damn, I knew you were bad, but I didn't know you were such a party pooper." Blitzo took his drink and stored it in his pocket.

Moxxie's emotions already revved back up with him inching out of his seat, wagging a finger at Blitzo. He began inaudibly growling.

"Welp, guess this is goodbye." Before Blitzo left the area, he lifted a leg up, toppling the chair Moxxie was sitting in, collapsing the imp on the floor. "See ya...whenever." He walked out of their view, taking one last peek through the window of the diner before fully leaving them.

Millie's eyes started to tear up, her hands releasing her cards as she planted them against her eyes. She took a deep breath, looking back up to Moxxie. "Come on, let's go home!" She said in a wobbly voice.

Moxxie followed behind Millie, wrapping an arm around her neck and over her shoulder. "Mil, I-I just thought you'd want this date between us." He reasoned.

Millie dismissed Moxxie with a hand waved in front of his face, continuing to cross the road and go back into the apartment. She opened the door to their home and went straight to their room.

Moxxie lagged behind, being locked from his own room. "Millie!" He yelled, knocking on the door. He lessened his attitude and continued, "I really didn't mean it!" He apologized.

Millie sat for another moment, before getting up and opening the door. She clenched a fist and said, "That wasn't the point!" her hand easing up as she quickly returned back to being distraught.

"B-But I know what's best for us. We don't need some boss bothering us!" Moxxie admitted, walking Miliie over to their bed, patting her on the back.

"It's just…" she sniffled, rubbing her face with a fist. "This was MY date, MY thanks to you." She wrapped her arms around Moxxie, holding him tight, "I can be more than the crazy little imp you've always loved."

Moxxie's gasped silently, looking away from the imp that was holding him closely. "You...don't need to prove anything. I-If you wanna try anything new, I'm all ears." He loosened Millie's grip on him, laying his hands on her shoulders, "Whatever you want, I'm all ears." He offered in a soft voice.

"W-Well…" She giggled, crossing her eyes, which were closing quickly. A sudden tickle propped up in her sinuses, sabotaging the intimate moment, "Hehhh-chiie." a kitten sneezed escaped her, along with some of her energy. "Maybe some help tucking me in bed, don't think I can be super useful today."

Moxxie giggled, handing Millie a handkerchief for her to use, "Whatever you need~" He moved the blanket to the side, allowing Millie to get comfortable. He slid the soft fabric over the ill imp.

"Th-thank you...chiiiew~!" She sneezed again, sniffling in bed. Millie eyes grew soft, feeling better about herself around Moxxie again.

"No need." Moxxie smiled, "I'll be making soup, but make sure to think of a good movie. I wouldn't want my gumdrop getting bored." He said, getting ready to shut the door.

"Never gonna be bored with you." The female imp smiled, "See ya soon, sweetie~" She rested her eyes, hearing the door shut gently.


End file.
